In this article 8 sections
Rideshare crashes raise a question that ordinary car accidents don’t: which insurance policy applies? The answer can change from one minute to the next, depending on whether the driver’s app was off, on and waiting, or carrying a passenger. It can also depend on whether the driver who caused the crash was the rideshare driver or someone else entirely.
And in 2026, one part of the answer changed. A new law cut the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage that rideshare companies must carry for passengers, from $1 million to a much lower amount. If you ride with Uber or Lyft, or drive for them, that change is worth understanding.
This post explains how California’s rideshare insurance rules work, what changed on January 1, 2026, and the practical steps that protect a claim.
The Law Behind Rideshare Insurance
California calls Uber, Lyft, and similar services “transportation network companies,” or TNCs. Their insurance obligations are set mainly by Public Utilities Code section 5433, and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulates the companies.
The key idea is that coverage turns on the driver’s app status. The CPUC describes three periods:
- Period 1: the app is on and the driver is waiting for a ride request.
- Period 2: the driver has accepted a request and is on the way to pick up the passenger.
- Period 3: the passenger is in the vehicle, until the passenger gets out.
There is also what people sometimes call “Period 0”: the app is off. In that case, the TNC insurance rules don’t apply, and the driver’s own personal auto policy is generally the place to look.
How Much Coverage Applies in Each Period
App on, waiting for a ride (Period 1)
Under section 5433(c), while the driver is logged on but has not accepted a ride (and again after completing one, until the next is accepted or the driver logs off), TNC insurance must be primary and provide at least:
- $50,000 for death and personal injury per person,
- $100,000 for death and personal injury per incident, and
- $30,000 for property damage.
The TNC must also carry at least $200,000 per occurrence in excess coverage for liability above those limits during this period.
Ride accepted, through drop-off (Periods 2 and 3)
Under section 5433(b), from the moment the driver accepts a ride request until the trip is complete, TNC insurance must be primary and provide $1,000,000 for death, personal injury, and property damage. This can be satisfied by a policy the driver carries, a policy the TNC carries, or a combination.
Why personal policies usually don’t apply
Public Utilities Code section 5434 says that, from the time a driver logs on until they log off or the passenger exits, the driver’s personal auto policy does not provide coverage unless it expressly covers rideshare use, such as through an endorsement. And under section 5433(d), TNC coverage can’t be made to depend on the personal insurer first denying the claim.
What SB 371 Changed in 2026
Before this year, section 5433 required $1,000,000 in uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage from the moment a passenger entered the vehicle until the passenger exited. That coverage could be provided by the driver’s policy, the TNC’s policy, or both.
SB 371 (Cabaldon), signed October 3, 2025 (Chapter 314, Statutes of 2025), changed that. As amended, effective January 1, 2026, section 5433(b)(2) requires the TNC to provide UM/UIM coverage of:
- $60,000 per person and
- $300,000 per incident
from the moment a passenger enters the vehicle until the passenger exits. The law also says this policy is primary over any other applicable UM/UIM coverage and is solely the TNC’s obligation. SB 371 was written to take effect only if a companion bill, AB 1340, was enacted; AB 1340 was chaptered in October 2025, and the amended section 5433 shows an effective date of January 1, 2026.
SB 371 left the $1 million liability requirement for Periods 2 and 3 and the Period 1 limits in place, and section 5433 still says it does not limit a TNC’s liability in a lawsuit for amounts above the required coverage.
What This Means If an Uninsured Driver Hits You
UM/UIM coverage matters when the driver who caused the crash is someone other than your rideshare driver, and that person has no insurance or too little. (If your rideshare driver caused the crash, the $1 million liability coverage is generally the main source.)
If you were a passenger
Consider a hypothetical: you are riding in an Uber when a driver with no insurance runs a red light and hits your car. Before 2026, the required UM/UIM coverage during your trip was $1 million. For a crash on or after January 1, 2026, the required minimum is $60,000 per person, with a $300,000 cap for everyone hurt in the incident. For a serious injury, $60,000 may not go far.
That makes your own coverage more important. Your personal UM/UIM may provide additional protection, but whether and how it applies when you are a passenger in someone else’s car depends on your policy’s language and California’s UM statute, which has rules about occupying vehicles other than your own and about how multiple UM policies interact. Our post on why UM/UIM coverage matters for California drivers explains how that coverage works and why the limits you choose matter.
If you were the rideshare driver
The UM/UIM requirement in section 5433 is tied to the period when a passenger is in the vehicle. When the app is on but no passenger is aboard, the statute does not require TNC UM/UIM coverage, and your personal policy may exclude rideshare use unless you bought an endorsement. Check what your rideshare endorsement, if any, actually covers.
Drivers have another potential source. Under Business and Professions Code section 7455, added by Proposition 22 in 2020, network companies must make available occupational accident insurance for app-based drivers injured while online, covering medical expenses up to at least $1 million and disability payments for up to 104 weeks, subject to the statute’s conditions. The statute treats those benefits like workers’ compensation for purposes of certain auto insurance offsets, so how they interact with a UM/UIM claim needs careful review.
Arbitration Clauses and Company Terms
When you sign up for a rideshare app, you agree to the company’s terms of service, and those terms commonly include an agreement to resolve disputes with the company through binding arbitration rather than in court. Lyft’s terms, for example, contain a broad arbitration agreement with specific exceptions. Whether an arbitration clause applies to a particular injury claim, and against whom, depends on the current terms, the type of claim, and the law. Claims against an at-fault third-party driver are a separate matter. Don’t assume the app’s terms end your options.
Getting the Trip Records
In a rideshare case, the app’s records often decide which coverage period applies. Here is how to protect them:
- Screenshot everything right away. Your trip receipt, route map, driver name and vehicle, pickup and drop-off times, and any in-app messages or safety reports.
- Don’t delete the app or your account. Your trip history is evidence.
- If you were driving, capture your app status and trip log at the time of the crash.
- Report the crash through the app and to police, and get the report number.
- Expect the insurers to ask for log-on data. Under Public Utilities Code section 5435, in a claims coverage investigation, a TNC or its insurer must cooperate with the other insurers involved, including providing the date and time of the accident and the precise times the driver logged on and off.
Some records, such as GPS data and internal logs, stay on the company’s servers. A written preservation request sent early, followed by formal requests if a claim or lawsuit proceeds, is the usual way to get them.
For the first steps at the scene, our guide on what to do after a car accident in California still applies.
Deadlines Still Apply
The general deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit in California is two years under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. UM/UIM claims have their own timing rules under Insurance Code section 11580.2, including a requirement to take specific action within two years of the accident. Don’t let an insurer’s back-and-forth run the clock.
How We Can Help
Rideshare claims often involve several insurers, each with a reason to say a different policy should pay. We start by pinning down the app status at the moment of the crash, identifying every policy that may apply, and sending preservation requests before records disappear. You can read more about our approach to rideshare accident claims.
If you were hurt in an Uber or Lyft crash in California, as a passenger, driver, or someone else on the road, contact Reardon Stodolka for a free consultation at 657.522.7122. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.